Schools germinate new tradition

PALMER -- There is a new athletic tradition in the Valley.

When Palmer and Colony volleyball teams are pitted against each other, they always play for pride. Now they will also be playing for a prize.

The final regular season contest of the year between the Moose and the Knights will be now and forever known as the Cabbage Bowl.

The winning team will not receive a bowl of cabbage, but they will earn the right to hold on to a traveling trophy for a season.

The annual Cabbage Bowl will reside at alternating venues each year. A special plaque for the event has been created and the results of each match will be recorded on the trophy.

The idea was devised by a pair of long-time Colony volleyball parents, Tom and Bridgette Preston. According to the Prestons, they wanted to create a special match to honor the continuing rivalry between the two Palmer schools. They penned the name Cabbage Bowl, due to the fact the local prep volleyball starts during the local cabbage harvest.

The Prestons have been involved with Colony volleyball for 10 years, while daughters Rory (class of 2000) and Zeenie (class of 2003) have donned the black and green uniforms.

Ironically, the Prestons are also the organizers of the Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off at the Alaska State Fair.

"For the last seven years, every August we have giant cabbages and volleyball on our agenda and they've sort of morphed into the Cabbage Bowl concept," Bridgette Preston said. " The Athletic Directors and coaches at both schools liked the idea so we hope it will be a fun new tradition. For years the guys have had the Potato Bowl, and now the girls can have the "Cabbage Bowl."

The first annual Cabbage Bowl will take place tonight at Colony High School at 6 p.m.

The Moose defeated the Knights 3-1 at the Palmer High Gym in their first meeting of the season, earlier this year.

"Anything to increase a little excitement is a fine idea," Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds said about the event.